Imaging lens

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is an imaging lens, including: a first lens having positive (+) power and being biconvex; a second lens having negative (−) power and being concave toward an image side; a third lens having positive (+) power and being biconvex; a fourth lens having positive (+) power and being convex toward the image side; and a fifth lens having negative (−) power and being concave toward the image side, wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, and the fifth lens are sequentially disposed from an object side.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0108128, filed on Oct. 21, 2011, entitled “Imaging Lens”, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to an imaging lens.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, due to the advancement in technology, mobile terminals such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are currently used for not only making simple phone calls but to also perform functions for multi-convergence such as playing music or movies, watching TV, and playing games. One of the leading factors for such multi-convergence is a camera module.

In general, a compact camera module (CCM) has a compact size and is applied to portable mobile communication devices such as camera phones, PDAs, and smartphones and various information technology (IT) devices such as toy cameras.

In regard to lenses mounted in conventional camera modules, a four-lens structure is used to realize a high pixel resolution. However, as the pixel size is reduced, it is difficult for the lenses to correspondingly implement the performance thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide an imaging lens having excellent optical characteristics.

According to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an imaging lens, including: a first lens having positive (+) power and being biconvex; a second lens having negative (−) power and being concave toward an image side; a third lens having positive (+) power and being biconvex; a fourth lens having positive (+) power and being convex toward the image side; and a fifth lens having negative (−) power and being concave toward the image side, wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, and the fifth lens are sequentially disposed from an object side.

The second lens, the fourth lens, and the fifth lens may be formed to have a meniscus shape.

A distance TTL from an incident surface of the first lens on the object side to the image side and a total focal length F of the imaging lens may satisfy the following conditional expression:

1.1<TTL/F<1.35.

A curvature radius of the first lens on the object side may be set to be greater than a curvature radius of the first lens on the image side.

A curvature radius of the second lens on the object side may be set to be greater than a curvature radius of the second lens on the image side.

A curvature radius of the third lens on the object side may be set to be greater than a curvature radius of the third lens on the image side.

A curvature radius of the fourth lens on the object side may be set to be greater than a curvature radius of the fourth lens on the image side.

The fifth lens may be formed such that a sweep angle (SWEEP ANGLE) of the fifth lens at an end of an effective diameter of the fifth lens on the image side is equal to or less than 46°.

An inflection point may be formed on each internal surface of the fifth lens on the object side and the image side.

The first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, and the fifth lens may each be formed to be aspherical.

The imaging lens may further include a stop, wherein the stop is disposed closer to the object side or the image side than the first lens.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an imaging lens according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a graph showing astigmatic field curves of the imaging lens according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a graph showing distortion of the imaging lens according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a graph showing coma aberration of the imaging lens according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Various features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to typical meanings or dictionary definitions, but should be interpreted as having meanings and concepts relevant to the technical scope of the present invention based on the rule according to which an inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to describe most appropriately the best method he or she knows for carrying out the invention.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the specification, in adding reference numerals to components throughout the drawings, it is to be noted that like reference numerals designate like components even though components are shown in different drawings. Terms used in the specification, ‘first’, ‘second’, etc. can be used to describe various components, but the components are not to be construed as being limited to the terms. The terms are only used to differentiate one component from other components. Further, in describing the present invention, a detailed description of related known functions or configurations will be omitted so as not to obscure the subject of the present invention. Further, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known art related to the present invention may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an imaging lens 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the imaging lens 100 includes, a first lens 110, a second lens 120, a third lens 130, a fourth lens 140, and a fifth lens 150 sequentially disposed from an object side. Also, the imaging lens 100 may further include a stop 105 that is disposed closer to the object side or an image side than the first lens 110.

First, to obtain an image of an object (subject), light corresponding to image information of the object sequentially passes through the first lens 110, the stop 105, the second lens 120, the third lens 130, the fourth lens 140, the fifth lens 150, and a filter 160 to be incident on a light receiving device 170.

Here, the first lens 110 has positive (+) power and is biconvex.

Also, the second lens 120 has negative (−) power and a meniscus shape that is concave toward the image side.

In addition, the third lens 130 has positive (+) power and is biconvex. Accordingly, the imaging lens 100 may achieve a high resolution and a slim size.

Also, the fourth lens 140 has positive (+) power and a meniscus shape that is convex toward the image side.

In addition, the fifth lens 150 has negative (−) power and a meniscus shape that is convex toward the image side.

Here, the fifth lens 150 is formed to have an inflection point on each internal surface on the object side and the image side so that a chief ray angle (CRA) of the fifth lens 150 and a CRA of an image sensor, which is a light receiving device, may be matched. Accordingly, ratio of marginal illumination may be improved, and a decrease in productivity of the imaging lens 100 may be prevented.

Meanwhile, the first lens 110 may be formed of a material having a great Abbe number and the second lens 120 may be formed of a material having a small Abbe number, thereby reducing chromatic aberration.

Also, the third lens 130 is formed to have smaller power than the first lens 110.

In addition, the first lens 110, the second lens 120, the third lens 130, the fourth lens 140, and the fifth lens 150 are formed to be aspherical.

Also, the stop 105 is disposed closer to the object side or the image side than the first lens 110, and selectively converges incident light to adjust a focal length.

Meanwhile, the imaging lens 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may have a focal length F of, for example, 2.8 mm or less and a field of view (FOV) of 60° or greater. However, the focal length F and FOV of the imaging lens 100 according to the present embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Also, the filter 160 may be formed of an infrared ray blocking filter (IR cut filter), but the type of the filter 160 according to the present embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto.

The infrared ray blocking filter blocks radiation heat emitted from external light so that the radiation heat is not transferred to the light receiving device 170.

That is, the infrared ray blocking filter transmits visible rays but reflects infrared rays to be emitted to the outside.

Also, the light receiving device 170 having a surface on which an image is formed may be formed of an image sensor that converts an optical signal corresponding to a subject image, to an electrical signal. The image sensor may be, for example, a charged coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), but is not limited thereto.

The imaging lens 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has optical characteristics as shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Lens Curvature Refrac- surface radius Thickness tive Abbe Lens Re- number (mm) (mm) index number shape marks S1 infinite 0 — — Flat Stop S2 1.800552 0.555385 1.544 56 Asphere L1 S3 −36.771 −0.0272 Asphere S4 4.03686 0.247717 1.632 23.4 Asphere L2 S5 1.680682 0.594997 Asphere S6 9.024377 0.110811 1.544 56 Asphere L3 S7 −15.3803 −0.06502 Asphere S8 −2.02202 −0.49456 1.544 56 Asphere L4 S9 −0.89994 −1.11119 Asphere S10 14.46622 6.91E−02 1.544 56 Asphere L5 S11 1.096596 9.12E−01 Asphere S12 infinite 1.517 64.2 Flat Filter S13 infinite Flat S14 infinite — — — Flat Image sensor

As shown in Table 1, all surfaces of the first lens 110 (L1), the second lens 120 (L2), the third lens 130 (L3), the fourth lens 140 (L4), and the fifth lens 150 (L5) of the imaging lens 100 are aspherical.

Also, values denoted by “-” in Table 1 are undefined values.

Also, S1 denotes a surface that determines a light amount of the imaging lens 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and Stop marked in the remarks column of S1 denotes the stop 105 (S1) which is used to adjust the light amount.

Here, the stop 105 is disposed closer to the object side than the first lens 110, but the position of the stop 105 according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto and may also be disposed closer to the image side than the first lens 110.

Table 2 below shows aspheric constants of aspherical lenses of the imaging lens 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

TABLE 2 K A B C D E S2 0 −0.01413 −0.00778 −0.02006 0.000785 0.0024 S3 0 −0.10971 0.337872 −0.58682 0.45104 −0.09954 S4 0 −0.22546 0.614614 −0.88307 0.628083 −0.13339 S5 0 −0.21613 0.435828 −0.45746 0.207889 −0.00481 S6 0 −0.15862 0.071111 −0.03314 0.095271 −0.04795 S7 0 −0.12057 0.020052 −0.02296 0.018017 0.014146 S8 −3.66663 −0.08874 0.07554 −0.05193 −0.00164 0.00944 S9 −3.39503 −0.11595 0.129208 −0.06781 0.020968 −0.0026 S10 0 −0.02978 −0.01115 0.007724 −0.00134 0.000077 S11 −6.79738 −0.05291 0.013976 −0.00368 0.000539 −0.00003

As shown in Tables 1 and 2, S1 denotes the stop 105 which is used to adjust a light amount. The stop 105 has no aspheric constant because it is flat.

Also, S11 and S12 denote the filter 160, and S13 denotes the image sensor which is the light receiving device 170 and has no aspheric constant because it is flat.

In addition, an aspheric constant regarding the imaging lens 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be calculated according to Equation 1 below.

$\begin{matrix} {{Z(h)} = {\frac{{ch}^{2}}{1 + \sqrt{1 - {\left( {1 + k} \right)c^{2}h^{2}}}} + {A\; h^{4}} + {Bh}^{6} + {Ch}^{8} + {Dh}^{10} + {Eh}^{12}}} & \left\lbrack {{Equation}\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack \end{matrix}$

Z: distance from a vertex of a lens in an optical axis direction

c: basic curvature of a lens

h: distance from a vertex of a lens in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis

K: Conic Constant

A, B, C, D, E: Aspheric Constant

A total focal length F of the imaging lens 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention and focal lengths F1, F2, F3, F4, and F5 of the first lens 110, the second lens 120, the third lens 130, the fourth lens 140, and the fifth lens 150 are as shown in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3 Item Total focal length F of imaging lens 3.87E+00 Focal length of the first lens (F1) 3.155091 Focal length of the second lens (F2) −4.74182 Focal length of the third lens (F3) 10.47052 Focal length of the fourth lens (F4) 2.549882 Focal length of the fifth lens (F5) 4.9916 TTL 4.8 Sweep angle 37

A distance TTL from an incident surface of the first lens 110 on the object side to the image side and the total focal length F of the imaging lens 100 may satisfy the following conditional expression.

1.1<TTL/F<1.35  (1)

The conditional expression (1) is a relational expression about a relationship between the distance TTL and power of the imaging lens 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. If the imaging lens 100 is designed to have a value greater than the conditional expression (1), productivity of the imaging lens 100 may decrease, and if the imaging lens 100 is designed to have a value smaller than the conditional expression (1), it is difficult to provide optical performance of the imaging lens 100.

Accordingly, by satisfying the conditional expression (1), the imaging lens 100 may be manufactured with high productivity and it may be easy to provide optical performance of the imaging lens 100.

Also, a curvature radius rdy s2 of the first lens 110 on the object side and a curvature radius rdy s3 of the first lens 110 on the image side according to the embodiment of the present invention may satisfy the following conditional expression.

rdy s3<rdy s2  (2)

The conditional expression (2) is related to characteristics of the curvature radius of the first lens 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention; by setting the curvature radius of the first lens 110 on the object side to be greater than the curvature radius of the first lens 110 on the image side, shape tolerance may be reduced.

Also, a curvature radius rdy s4 of the second lens 120 on the object side and a curvature radius rdy s5 of the second lens 120 on the image side according to the embodiment of the present invention may satisfy the following conditional expression.

rdy s5<rdy s4  (3)

The conditional expression (3) is related to characteristics of the curvature radius of the second lens 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention; by setting the curvature radius of the second lens 120 on the object side to be greater than the curvature radius of the second lens 120 on the image side, sensitivity of the second lens 120 may be reduced, but at the same time, the lenses having a better shape may be formed during injection molding.

Also, a curvature radius rdy s6 of the third lens 130 on the object side and a curvature radius rdy s7 of the third lens 130 on the image side according to the embodiment of the present invention may satisfy the following conditional expression.

rdy s7<rdy s6  (4)

The conditional expression (4) is related to characteristics of the curvature radius of the third lens 130 according to the embodiment of the present invention; by setting the curvature radius of the third lens 130 on the object side to be greater than the curvature radius of the third lens 130 on the image side, the overall sensitivity of the third lens 130 may be reduced, but at the same time, an inflection point on each surface of the third lens 130 may be minimized.

Also, a curvature radius rdy s8 of the fourth lens 140 on the object side and a curvature radius rdy s9 of the fourth lens 140 on the image side according to the embodiment of the present invention may satisfy the following conditional expression.

rdy s9<rdy s8  (5)

The conditional expression (5) is related to characteristics of the curvature radius of the fourth lens 140 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The curvature radius of the fourth lens 140 on the object side is set to be greater than the curvature radius of the fourth lens 140 on the image side. When the curvature radius of the fourth lens 140 on the object side is set to be smaller than that of the fourth lens 140 on the image side, the distance TTL from the incident surface of the first lens on the object side to the image side is not reduced, thereby deteriorating aberration characteristics.

Accordingly, by satisfying the conditional expression (5), the distance TTL from the incident surface of the first lens on the object side to the image side may be reduced, and aberration characteristics may be improved.

In addition, a sweep angle L5 S11 A at an end of an effective diameter of the fifth lens 150 on the image side may satisfy the following conditional expression.

L5 S11 A<46°  (6)

The conditional expression (6) represents a condition under which total internal reflection of the fifth lens 150 is minimized.

Here, a sweep angle refers to an angle between the object side and the image side, which is measured from an end of the fifth lens 150 on the image side.

If the sweep angle L5 S11 A is greater than 46°, strong internal reflection is generated when capturing an image due to reflection of the fifth lens 150 on the image side and total reflection of the fifth lens 150 on the object side, and this causes deterioration of image quality.

Accordingly, by satisfying the conditional expression (6), generation of internal reflection may be reduced when capturing an image, thereby preventing deterioration of image quality.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing astigmatic field curves of the imaging lens 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a graph showing distortion of the imaging lens 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a graph showing coma aberration of the imaging lens 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the graph of astigmatic field curves shows aberration characteristics of a directional component X of light on the x-axis and a directional component Y of light on the y-axis according to an image height (ANGLE) seen from the object side, which is a vertical axis, and a focus position (FOCUS), which is a horizontal axis. Here, as can be seen from the graph of FIG. 2, X and Y are adjacent to each other, and thus, images do not diffuse and resolving power thereof is not deteriorated.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the graph shows distortion shown on a horizontal axis according to an image height (ANGLE) seen from the object side. Here, as can be seen from distortion that is mainly between 1.5 and 1.7 on the horizontal axis, there is substantially little distortion.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the graph of the coma aberration shows tangential and sagittal aberration characteristics according to wavelengths according to an image height. Here, it can be seen that as wavelengths are adjacent to a horizontal axis, there is little yellow aberration.

According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, an imaging lens having excellent optical characteristics may be manufactured so as to obtain high resolution and a slim size of the imaging lens, and also, chromatic aberrations may be improved.

Although the embodiments of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, it will be appreciated that the imaging lens according to the invention is not limited thereto, and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Also, all simple modifications and changes will be construed as being included in the present invention, and the specific scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. 

1-11. (canceled)
 12. An image lens unit, comprising: a first lens having positive (+) power and being convex toward an object side; a second lens having negative (−) power and being concave toward an image side; a third lens being convex toward the image side; a fourth lens having positive (+) power and being convex toward the image side; and a fifth lens having negative (−) power and being concave in the center toward the image side, wherein a total focal length F of the imaging lens satisfies the following conditional expression: 3.555<F<4.364, and wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens and the fifth lens are arranged in order from the object side to the image side.
 13. The image lens of claim 12, wherein a distance TTL on an optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an image sensor satisfies the following conditional expression: 4.257<TTL<5.225.
 14. The image lens of claim 13, wherein: the second lens is convex toward the object side, the fourth lens is concave toward the object side, the fifth lens comprises an image side surface being concave in the center and convex at the periphery, the second and fourth lenses have a meniscus shape, and at least one inflection point is formed on an image surface of the fifth lens.
 15. The image lens of claim 14, wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, and the fifth lens are aspherical.
 16. The image lens of claim 12, wherein: the image lens further comprises a stop disposed in front of the first lens to adjust a light amount, an Abbe number of the first lens is greater than an Abbe number of the second lens, and a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the second lens is greater than a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the second lens.
 17. The image lens of claim 12, wherein Abbe numbers of the first, fourth and fifth lenses are about 56, and an Abbe number of the second lens is about 23.4.
 18. The image lens of claim 12, wherein a distance TTL on an optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an image sensor and the total focal length F of the imaging lens satisfy the following conditional expression: 1.1<TTL/F<1.35.
 19. The image lens of claim 16, wherein: the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fourth lens is greater than the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fourth lens, and the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fifth lens is greater than the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fifth lens.
 20. The image lens of claim 12, wherein a thickness of the second lens is about 2.5 mm.
 21. The image lens of claim 12, wherein a distance on an optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an image sensor is about 4.8 mm.
 22. The image lens of claim 12, wherein a focal length of the second lens is about −4.742 mm.
 23. The image of lens of claim 12, wherein a power of the third lens is smaller than a power of the first lens.
 24. The image lens of claim 12, wherein $\frac{R\; 7}{F}$ is about −0.52 where R7 is a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fourth lens, and F is the total focal length of the imaging lens.
 25. The image lens of claim 24, wherein $\frac{R\; 8}{F}$ is about −0.2 where R8 is a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fourth lens, and F is the total focal length of the imaging lens.
 26. The image lens of claim 12, wherein $\frac{{CT}\; 1}{F}$ is about 0.14 where CT1 is a thickness of the first lens, and F is a total focal length of the imaging lens.
 27. The image lens of claim 12, wherein $\frac{D\; 23}{F\; 2}$ is about −0.12 where D23 is a distance from an image-side surface of the second lens to an object-side surface of the third lens, and F2 is a focal length of the second lens.
 28. The image lens of claim 12, wherein a thickness of the first lens is about 0.55 mm.
 29. The image lens of claim 28, wherein a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fourth lens is about −2.02 mm, and a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fourth lens is −0.89 mm.
 30. An image lens unit, comprising: a first lens having positive (+) power and comprising a convex surface on object side; a second lens having negative (−) power and comprising a convex surface on the object side and a concave surface on an image side; a third lens comprising a convex surface on the image side; a fourth lens having positive (+) power and comprising a concave surface on the object side and a convex surface on the image side; and a fifth lens having negative (−) power and comprising an image side surface being concave in the center and convex at the periphery, wherein a total focal length F of the imaging lens satisfies the following conditional expression: 3.555<F<4.364, and wherein the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens and the fifth lens are arranged in order from the object side to the image side, and the convex surfaces of the first, second, third and fourth lenses and the concave lenses of the second and fourth lenses are arranged on an optical axis.
 31. The image lens of claim 30, wherein a distance TTL on the optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an image sensor satisfies the following conditional expression: 4.257<TTL<5.225.
 32. The image lens of claim 30, wherein: the second and fourth lenses have a meniscus shape, at least one inflection point is formed on the image side surface of the fifth lens, the first lens, the second lens, the third lens, the fourth lens, and the fifth lens are aspherical, an Abbe number of the first lens is greater than an Abbe number of the second lens, a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the second lens is greater than a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the second lens, and the image lens further comprises a stop disposed in front of the first lens to adjust a light amount.
 33. The image lens of claim 32, wherein Abbe numbers of the first, fourth and fifth lenses are about 56, and an Abbe number of the second lens is about 23.4.
 34. The image lens of claim 32, wherein a distance TTL on the optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an image sensor and the total focal length F of the imaging lens satisfy the following conditional expression: 1.1<TTL/F<1.35.
 35. The image lens of claim 32, wherein: the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fourth lens is greater than the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fourth lens, and the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fifth lens is greater than the absolute value of a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fifth lens.
 36. The image lens of claim 30, wherein a thickness of the second lens is about 0.25 mm.
 37. The image lens of claim 30, wherein a distance on the optical axis from an object-side surface of the first lens to an image sensor is about 4.8 mm.
 38. The image lens of claim 30, wherein a focal length of the second lens is about −4.8 mm.
 39. The image lens of claim 30, wherein $\frac{R\; 7}{F}$ is about −0.52, and $\frac{R\; 8}{F}$ is about −0.2 where R7 is a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fourth lens, R8 is a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fourth lens, and F is the total focal length of the imaging lens.
 40. The image lens of claim 30, wherein $\frac{D\; 23}{F\; 2}$ is about −0.12 where D23 is a distance from an image-side surface of the second lens to an object-side surface of the third lens, and F2 is a focal length of the second lens.
 41. The image lens of claim 30, wherein a thickness of the first lens is about 0.55 mm, a radius of curvature of an object-side surface of the fourth lens is about −2.02 mm, and a radius of curvature of an image-side surface of the fourth lens is −0.89 mm. 